Senate Proposes Billions in Spending

April 11, 2011|By Ted Land | Channel 2 News

KTUU/Carolyn Hall Jensen

JUNEAU, Alaska — The Alaska Senate unveiled a nearly $2.9 billion capital budget Monday.

It's just slightly smaller than last year's spending plan, which some lawmakers, and the governor, considered pretty hefty; and includes money for major energy projects, roads, repairs, and schools.

$20 million would go to the Anchorage port; $10 million would fix up Project 80's buildings, like the Loussac library; and $17 million would build a new UAA sports arena.

There's also money directed at energy projects, like home weatherization and hydro power.

In addition, Lawmakers who crafted the budget committed to fixing up the major repairs needed in Alaska's schools.

"Our economy is still fragile, but through strong capital budgets we have been able to stave off a substantial economic downturn in Alaska," said Senate Finance Committee co-chair Bert Stedman (R-Sitka) in a press release.

Stedman said the Senate intends to save $2 for every dollar it spends.

Once the Senate is finished with it, the capital budget will go through the House, where lawmakers there might want to tack on or take out projects.

House Finance Committee co-chair Bill Stoltze (R-Chugiak) said the Senate has some tough negotiators, but that he does not expect much disagreement.

"I'm suspecting that there will be a lot of projects in there that members of our caucus support," he said Monday before the budget was released.

Gov. Sean Parnell has the final say and can veto any projects he does not think belongs. He told lawmakers last week that if they pass his oil tax cut, then he'll allow them to spend as much as they did on last year's capital budget.

Given that it's unlikely the Senate will pass those oil tax cuts, there could be some serious trimming to the spending plan.

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